Iran rejects IAEA report as politically motivated

Hours before release of damning report, Ahmadinejad says Amano "repeats words of the US," calls on IAEA to investigate US nuclear activity.

Ahmadinejad 311.
(photo credit:REUTERS)

Iran rejected as
"politically motivated" a report by the UN nuclear watchdog on Tuesday,
in which the Islamic Republic was accused of working on developing an
atomic bomb design, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

"The
report of the International Atomic Energy Agency is unbalanced,
unprofessional and politically motivated," said Ali Asghar Soltanieh,
Iran's envoy to the IAEA.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized the head of
the International Atomic Energy Agency hours before the release of the report, calling him a pawn for US
interests.

Ahmadinejad said that IAEA was a tool for a few
countries bent on world domination, and stated that Iran would continue
to pursue nuclear development despite international pressure.

"They have empowered a person in the IAEA that
has no authority and violates the agency's rules by repeating the words
of the US," the Iranian president said according to Iranian
semi-official FARS News Agency.

Ahamdinejad made the comments
just as the IAEA was expected to release a report detailing intelligence
about Tehran's nuclear capabilities.

The Iranian president also lashed out at the United States, saying Iran
does not need an atomic bomb to "cut off [the] US's hands," official
Iranian PressTV reported.

Noting that the United States possesses over 5,000 nuclear warheads,
Ahmadinejad accused Washington of arrogance in its campaign against
Tehran.

The US, he said, has allocated "$81 billion to upgrade its atomic bombs,
while the entire annual budget of Iran's nuclear research is merely
$250 million," according to the report.

The UN nuclear watchdog report is expected to show recent activity in
Iran that could help in developing nuclear warheads, including computer
models of such weapons.